The invention relates to improvements in methods and apparatus for cutting miters on trim members. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus which can be used with particular advantage for simultaneously or practically simultaneously cutting miters on three trim members including two side trim members which are temporarily or permanently secured to a support, such as a panel constituting or forming part of a table top. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus of the type wherein two sawing machines are movable jointly relative to a set of aligned trim members to cut miters at selected angles while advancing relative to the supporting means for the trim members.
It is known to provide the edge faces of certain types of panels, such as table tops, door panels and the like, with trim members which are normally bonded to the panels and whose meeting end portions are provided with miter cuts extending diagonally of the panels. Problems arise when the last of a set of three or more trim members is to be cut to size so as to fit exactly into the space between the neighboring end portions of the trim members which are adjacent thereto. As a rule, the previously applied trim members are called side trim members and the trim member which is to be inserted between the side trim members is called a head trim member. Reference may be had, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,227 granted September 19, 1967 to Zern. Heretofore known proposals for cutting head trim members to exact size are not entirely satisfactory because such members are either too long (so that they do not accurately overlie the respective portion of the edge face of the panel) or too short so that they and the neighboring side trim members define unsightly clearances at the respective corners of the panel.
German Utility Model No. 16 95 544 discloses an apparatus for cutting miters on trim members wherein both ends of the head trim member can be cut simultaneously with the adjacent ends of two neighboring side trim members. A drawback of the proposal which is disclosed in this publication is that the quality of the work (i.e., the exact length of the head trim member) depends largely or exclusively on the skill and carefulness of the operator and that the operation is too slow.
The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,227 to Zern discloses a more sophisticated trim cutting apparatus which is designed to apply trim members to door and window frames and door panels. A drawback of the proposal of Zern is that the apparatus is very complex and expensive even though it can perform the miter cutting operation with a reasonably high degree of accuracy.